Last month former Gartmore multi-manager team members Ari Towli and Nick Roberts joined the group to work alongside North Investment Partners’ chief executive John Husselbee and Nick Stanhope.
North currently operates 12 mandates for seven different clients, with more launching at the end of the year.
The added team resource does not mean Husselbee will be taking a back seat in the research, portfolio construction and running of the group’s existing portfolios but it will allow for greater frequency of applications in their management. He notes some operations, such as reviews and monitoring, have taken place on a quarterly or monthly basis but can now be handled monthly or weekly.
“The depth of our coverage can be expanded rather than its breadth," he explained. "We can look more deeply into portfolios and monitor them more frequently to see exactly how managers are positioned.”
Husselbee notes the strength of risk management capability is a fundamental aspect that IFAs examine when looking at their outsourcing options, which is why having appropriate experience in place is vital. Towli is currently constructing greater tools for fund analysis, building up models to assist the managers in risk management procedures.
With the trend towards investment management outsourcing growing ahead of RDR, IFAs need to be confident sufficient resource and experience is in place, he says, adding with now just under £500m in assets, the Gartmore hires have helped strengthen North’s proposition.
